Winepress - April 2024

Vintage 2024

SOPHIE PREECE

MARLBOROUGH’S 2024 grape harvest will bring financial pressure for many, with low yields and burgeoning costs exacerbated by high interest rates. But the wines from the year have potential to be the region’s best yet, says winemaker Matt Thomson at the tail end of his 63rd harvest, with 32 of them in Marlborough. “You don’t know until the wines are made and finished, but this feels like the best vintage in those 63 harvests. It’s quite incredible.”

Speaking as he and Blank Canvas co-owner Sophie Parker-Thomson MW drive high up the Awatere Valley, trucking bins to their last Pinot Noir handpick of the year, Matt says the season could have been dialled up for winemakers, with low yields, warm days, ultra dry conditions, and an autumnal shift to cold nights in March. “You couldn’t have asked for better from a timing point of view.”

The cold nights protect acidity retention and aromatics, while also guarding the fruit from disease, Matt says. Loose bunches from a poor flowering also reduced disease risk, while the region’s drought conditions have prevented the growth of botrytis spores. That combination has resulted in the cleanest harvest in his winemaking career, “by some margin”, Matt says. “We have had days when we haven’t seen one botrytised berry.” And the fruit is “amazing” he adds. “If you can’t make good wine as a winemaker this year, you need to consider a career change.”

Despite stellar quality, low yields will have financial ramifications for many in the region, Sophie says, noting the direct impact on growers and contract winemaking facilities. “From a macro perspective the district will have a hard year… It’s pretty frightening for some people.” The couple say there will be pain, but the light crop is what the region “desperately needed”, with the stock still in tanks from 2023. “We have the opportunity now to reset, and I just desperately hope that people learn from what was a very stressful situation last year, with a global downturn in spending,” Matt says. “There are a few people out there who are taking shots at Marlborough and we have to make sure that all the wine coming out of our region is good enough to wear the Marlborough brand.”

He adds that Marlborough is known for a product with a perceived short shelf life, while facing yield fluctuations of more than 50% from year to year. “That’s a huge issue in managing that demand-supply balance. That’s something as an industry and region we need to address urgently – how do we soften those over supply, under supply situations? That’s a challenge.”

Foley Wine’s group winemaker Stu Marfell says the lower yielding vintage will take some pressure off the industry at large, with “some bigger picture pressures” impacting demand. “While the low yields will be tough on growers and wineries, the lighter vintage will be good for Marlborough in general.”

Speaking on March 21, with a big, blue-skied day following a cold frost-fighting morning, he says the classic autumn conditions, with a strong diurnal shift, are perfect for Marlborough grape growing. “We are getting really good acid and so much flavour.” By early March he was a little concerned at how rapidly fruit was ripening in hot summer conditions, “but the switch got flicked from summer to autumn overnight really”, he says, noting the perfect timing for the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay harvest. There’s opportunity to make “amazing” wines, he adds. “Everything is superpowered; bright and intense.”

Low yields and a hot dry summer have made this the earliest harvest ever for Grove Mill and Vavasour Wineries, both owned by Foley Wines, with the crop levels down in the Awatere and Wairau Valley. Stu expects his harvest to be over before April, in one of the earliest finishes he’s experienced. In the meantime, they’ll be hoping for more nights that are cold enough to lock in flavour, but not cold enough to frost. “It’s cool climate winemaking; that’s what we do.”

According to VineFacts, the three-month rainfall total to March 19 was well below half of average (42%), while evapotranspiration was well above average at 111%. That put the three-month water balance at -384.8 mm, which is 120mm lower than the long-term average. Framingham viticulturist James Bowskill says water has definitely been a pressure point this season. “We had to prioritise blocks within vineyards to get more water, and run others a little drier than we’d like. On the whole, we got through well, and the benefits of reduced disease pressure outweighed the drawbacks of restricted irrigation,” James says. “I would choose a dry year over a wet year every time.” The company’s harvest dates were close to long term average, but much earlier than last year, and the harvest period was shorter than the long-term average. Their yields are good, apart from Sauvignon Blanc, “which is pretty light”, James says, putting that down to a combination of spring frosts and “miserable” weather during flowering. Meanwhile, quality is great, with “low yields of very ripe, clean fruit”, he says. “Should be some pretty cool wines.” That includes a “return to form” for Gewürztraminer, “so it’ll be nice to see the wines made from that variety in 2024”.

Clos Henri, in the Wairau Valley, began its Sauvignon Blanc harvest on March 20 and Pinot Noir the following day. The fruit is “amazing”, says general manager and winemaker Damien Yvon. “Ripening in the cooler spectrum will probably give us one of the finest expression that we can have… It reminds me of the first few vintages when I came here 18 years ago: no stress, cool mornings, warm afternoons…the best ripening conditions you can get.” In the Sauvignon Blanc, acidity is not very high but Ph has also stayed low, “so will make wine with beautiful tension, that will age very, very well,” Damien adds. “It’s very unusual, but a really, really good sign.” He’s philosophical about the lighter yields this season. “You are better to have one too few bottles that one too many.”

“It’s been a pretty dreamy vintage,” says Huia Winemaker Josh Lee. “The weather has been fantastic. Our viticultural team have done a fantastic job, making life in the winery pretty easy really.” Huia was bought by Tom Pegler in 2022, after 26 years in the Allan family, and Josh joined in August last year, just in time for a harvest blessed by great weather. “Everything is looking really exciting,” he says on March 25, as Huia cracks into a Sauvignon Blanc harvest that is later than he expected, given the fruit for méthode traditionnelle came on early and rapidly, with a swift harvest in late February. Josh says the longer tail to the harvest, with continued fine weather, means Sauvignon Blanc can happily hang for optimal ripeness.

Riverby Estate had completed picking the bulk of its grapes by March 21, in their earliest finish ever. Co-owner Kevin Courtney says it should be a quality vintage. “We’ve had no disease, no rain and the fruit is looking exceptional.” However, cooler temperatures and rain during flowering resulted in significantly reduced bunch and berry size. “Given where we are in Jackson’s Road, with our sandy, loamy soils, we naturally crop lower than most,” Kevin says. “But this year we’re down by about a third across the board - the lowest we’ve ever seen.” The “usually bullet proof” Grüner Veltliner was the worst affected, down by almost 50%.

No.1 Family Estate started harvest for its méthode traditionnelle on February 29 with Pinot Noir, followed by Chardonnay then Pinot Meunier, and wound up on March 9. Winemaker and Winery Manager Lee Dobson says they enjoyed an “exceptional flowering” for all varieties, followed by the “dream scenario” of a dry 2024 summer. “Zero disease pressure in the vineyard led to superb fruit quality with fantastic acid structure. I can’t wait to see how these wines will turn out in two to three years’ time.”